Circumstances
by Hellmouth23
Summary: Kate Austen led a pretty predictable life despite being one of the best Spinal Surgeons in the State, but that all changes when the plane she was on crashes on a seemingly deserted island.T Rated JATE fic set around the beginning of season 3.
1. Chapter 1

**Circumstances**

**Now this scenario has always played around in my head while watching the show, but it was pretty rough and fragmented when it first formed, but now I've got a fairly good idea on the kind of direction I wanna see this fic taking. So without further interruption here it is and I hope you'll like it guys. **

**Disclaimer : Don't own Jack or Kate but like every jater I wish to God I did, especially now lol.**

Enjoy

_Intro_

"So why are we here again?" he grumbled as he reluctantly willed his feet to follow the small man a few feet ahead of him.

"We're here for the obvious reason Shepherd, and that's all you need to know." the small man shot back as he walked further into the tunnel of the hatch.

A few strides later and they were stepping foot in a room surrounded by small surveillance screens, each one keeping track of another connected location, but what caught the man's attention was the very evident activity on the fourth one when it was switched on.

All he could see of this location was someone lying on a bed and minutes later his sights were graciously awarded with a second figure barely showing any clear physical resemblance at first, but her sudden tending to the dormant figure on the bed gave her spectator the chance to finally figure out who she was.

"She's cute." The tall man mused while the smaller man next to him just continued to stare on at the screen in his own creepy way.

"It's her." the small creepy man muttered in a sudden moment of clear realisation of what he had been told of this woman, more importantly what she specialised in.

"What about her Ben?"

"You'll see in time Jack." he replied while turning off the screens wearing a combined look of accomplishment and hope while Jack just wore one of utter confusion while following the man he had come to respect and regard as an authority figure in a place he had learned to call home for the last three years.

**2 months later**

The last thing she remembered was running away from an unexplainable surrounding whisper, and now she was here handcuffed and imprisoned within a glass barricaded cell.

Where was she?

Where were her friends?

They were the obvious questions to ask in a situation like this, and she was off the metallic bench she was originally placed on in no time to try and get some answers as to why she was brought here.

Despite the handicap the cuffs offered, she still tried her best to find a plausible way out of this prison, but she was stopped short when the door a few feet away from her cell opened to reveal a casually dressed man holding a tray of food, and adorning an expression of calm despite the circumstances.

"Hello Kate, I'm Jack."

**So what's the verdict guys? Interesting enough to continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Wow thanks so so much guys for reading, reviewing, alerting and fvouriting lol. I too am thoroughly psyched about this role reversal fic, so without further adieu here's the next instalment and I hope you'll like it as much as the first.**

_Ella Julian : Thanks for the review hon and glad your liking this fic already._

_Philadelphia : All I can say hon is that things will slowly start to unfold with Jack's story and how he came to be on the island. Thanks for the review._

_NYR88 : Thanks for the review and I'm glad your liking the role reversal in this fic and soon you'll see how it will benefit the development of our favourite couple. _

_Lauren : Thanks for the review hon and you know me and cliff hangers, we're truly the best of friends but you'll get answers soon._

_Didgeridoo : Aww thanks so much the review hon and I love that you love my work. Hope you'll stick around for more._

_Sunshine-M : Thanks so much for the review and I hope you'll like this instalment as well._

_Kate : Thanks for the review hon and I can assure that with each chapter we'll start to learn more and more about Jack's back story and what led him to join Ben in the first place. Hope you'll like this instalment._

_Milo86 : Thanks so much for the review and I too am intrigued to see where this story will go._

_Supersolanea : Thanks for the review hon and the smutty writer in me is smiling with pride at your suggestion lol._

_Hero Lily : Thanks for the review hon and I'm glad that your liking the whole twist and role reversal of this fic. Hope you'll like this instalment._

_Jate is Jexy : Thanks for the review hon and I too am excited about this fic. Hope you'll like this instalment._

_Lostsalingerscout : Thanks so much for the review Ana, glad your already liking this fic and I hope you'll like this instalment as well._

Enjoy

(3 years ago)

"Female, late 20's, no ID, she coded twice on the way over here."

"Where's the other one?" the accompanying nurse inquired while pushing the gurney holding the patient.

"Right behind us. They're on their way -- Fire Department had to use the jaws." the Medical technician replied in a hurried manner while physically moving at the same pace with the gurney.

"What have we got here?"

"Piece of the steering column. All right, let's go. Keep that collar steady…….." The tall man instructed while coming over to handle their latest patient, but the minute he saw who it actually was lying bloody and unconscious below him, he momentarily froze at what this meant.

"Dr. Shepherd, are you alright?" one of the nurses asked as he just continued to gaze wide eyed at the figure below him.

"Pag…..Page my Father." was the next thing to come out of his mouth as he rushed his wife into the nearest exam room.

"Already did." the Intern replied in an assertive manner while still checking to see if the man before her was fit enough to continue.

"Tell me." he asked the intern as the initial shock seemed to sink in somewhat.

"Her tire blew, car jumped the divider, went head-on with an SUV."

"BP's dropping." a nurse interrupted while alternating her gaze between the scene before her and the heart rate monitor.

"Pericardial's pierced. Was she driving?" Jack asked the EMT next to him.

"Yes, alone."

"Where's the driver of the SUV?" he continued on and within seconds he received his answer as another patient was wheeled into the same room.

"Christian Shepherd , 67, chest trauma, no breath sounds" the second EMT announced and Jack just let out a short gasp as his hands over the present patient momentarily stilled in shock once again.

"Doctor his breathing is deteriorating." the second nurse at Christian's side stressed while trying their best to stabilize the present situation of the patient somewhat, but Jack's mind was still reeling in the fact that two of the people he loved were lying wounded on either side of him, solely depending on him and his skills as a Doctor to fix it, but the real question was whether this catastrophe was within his power to fix.

"We're losing him." the same nurse repeated and sighed in relief when she finally saw some sense of change in his demeanour.

"Tube my Father while I….."

"I can't incubate, you've got to." the Intern interrupted and explained while Jack tried to formulate some kind of feasible way to deal with two patients at one time.

"Dr. Shepard, her BP's 80 over 60." the other nurse reminded him from behind and only amped his stress levels as a result.

_Who was he going to fix?_

"Okay, need a syringe - big one. You, hold pressure."

"88 over 52, no radial pulse." the nurse informed as Jack continued to work on his chosen patient.

"I know. I know -- sac's flooded. Where's that…"

"Right here. Got it?"

"Yep" Jack simply responded while focusing his mind on the task at hand rather than the image of his wife's withering face.

"Doctor, we're losing him." the nurse at Christian's side reminded Jack yet again, forcing him to reply in a rather annoyed manner.

"BP's dropping."

"C'mon, c'mon damnit!!" Jack kept chanting over and over as he resorted to the more traditional ways of resuscitation. The end result proving to be nothing but a………

"Time of death, 8.15 pm." the nurse was then forced to state in a gloomed and monotonous manner while Jack just continued to stare at the now lifeless body of his wife.

"BP is stabilizing." a shocked voice suddenly spoke from behind him, and with that said an incoherent moaning started to erupt from that very patient.

"I'm sorry sir I can't…." the nurse tried while inching herself closer to the sound to decipher a clear translation, but all she got in return were broken words mixed in with laboured breaths. However as she gave up hope , the patient below then mouthed something. Two distinct words that reverberated throughout the room, catching Jack's attention right away.

"_I'm sorry."_

(End of Flashback)

"I brought you something to eat. This is how it will work. You sit there across from the door, back against the wall. I open the door and leave the tray. Can I trust you to do that, Kate?" Jack softly instructed for the brunette to hopefully follow, although he secretly knew it would be quite a task to achieve judging by the way she was carefully eyeing him almost waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

"Not hungry." the brunette simply replied while continuously eyeing the man before her, and instead of taking immediate offence with her tone he resorted to approach this in a calm and civilised manner, cause the last thing he wanted was for her to feel anymore threatened than she already felt.

"C'mon Kate I know your hungry and………."

"I DON'T WANT YOUR FOOD!!" she spat out in frustration of being treated in this way; like a prisoner.

"Well it is a really nice sandwich." Jack joked in an attempt to lighten the mood considerably, but all the woman across from him did in response was stare right back at him, while then furrowing her eyebrows in confusion when her eyes caught sight of something behind him.

"What's that button for?" she asked instead while pointing towards the designated location

"It's for emergencies" Jack simply replied once he realised what she was on about.

"Who's watching me?" Kate inquired while briefly chuckling in disbelief at this place and it's ways.

"So are you going to sit against the wall for me so I can open the door cause I really wouldn't want you to miss out on my special of the week." he joked again in an attempt to slowly crumble her resolve, but it seemed her stubborn streak was the one thing he underestimated about her.

"You can have it." she offered while placing herself over the metallic bench once again.

"What do you do, Kate? What's your profession?" Jack asked once he made himself comfortable in the vacant chair placed next to the table facing the cell. Her file being retrieved from the table as soon as he sat down.

"Well why don't you read on and find out for yourself." she shot back and then started to pace the length of her cell. It's restricted space slowly fuelling her frustration once again.

"What about you? What's your job, besides making sandwiches?" she inquired, breaking the seemingly endless silence within the room.

"Ah, well I didn't make it. I just put the toothpicks in, but I guess that can be our little secret." he mused as he finally gained her full attention.

"Um, so when your plane crashed, where were you flying from?" Jack cleared his throat and opted to continue on with his interrogation, or whatever this was now.

"Sydney." Kate numbly replied while bowing her head to suppress her gathering tears.

"What were you doing there?" he casually asked while closing the file he was reading cause there was something in her momentary pauses to suggest that this was a rather uneasy subject to touch on, and he had his assumptions judging by what her file stated.

"I was……I was bringing my husband home." she struggled to get out while gulping down the constricting lump forming within her throat.

"Why would you go all the way to……"

"Because he was dead." she spat out a little harsher than intended but the grief she was still living with was enough to make it understandable.

"I'm sorry." Jack spoke with nothing but regret in his tone. His compassion for her showing through his gaze, and she just laughed bitterly in response while muttering a quick _"thanks" _ to show some level of gratitude for his rather unexpected concern over her loss.

For the next few minutes he just looked at her while she cried, feeling and relating to her pain on some instinctual level, and it was that sense of feeling that willed him to do what he did next.

He slowly trudged over to where she was currently seated at, and once he positioned himself right in front of her, he placed his right hand over the glass while silently calling out for her attention with what he wanted to say next.

"You can trust me, Kate. I'm not going to hurt you." for some reason a part of her wanted to believe it. His indulgent brown eyes doing it's own job of convincing her to trust and confide in his words.

**So Kate had a husband? Was it Tom, Kevin or someone else altogether? Well come next chapter and we'll find out more about Kate's back story. So what do you think guys?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Again thanks so so much guys for all the lovely feedback, and without further interruption here's the third instalment. God I'm so hyper about this fic now cause my mind is literally swimming with possibilities, but I think I'm gonna stick with the path I had originally chosen to follow when I started this fic, hehe.**

_Athol Brose : Wow!! thanks so much for the review hon. I'm really glad that your liking this twist and I honestly feel that they should have used the original plotline for Kate being separated from her husband on the show cause it would have brought Jack and Kate even closer in some ways, but I guess having her as a fugitive instead makes the love story a lot more harder to concur. Thanks once again and I hope you'll like this instalment._

_Sunshine-M : Thanks so much for the review hon and I too am excited about this plot. Hope you'll like this instalment._

_JJ: hehe, thanks so much for the review hon and I too am freaking excited about this plot lol. Hope you'll like this instalment._

_Didgeridoo : Aww thanks for the review hon and they are definitely soul mates, no doubt about that, hehe. _

_Ella Julian : Thanks so much for the review hon and we will definitely find out a little bit about Kate's husband, starting with this instalment._

_JateisJexy : Thanks so much for the review hon and jate scenes are definitely going to occur within this fic. Maybe even sooner than you think._

_NYR88 : Thanks so much for the review and we will definitely start to see more of Kate's husband within this instalment._

_Lostsalingerscout : Thanks for the review Ana and we haven't seen the last of Jack's Dad._

_Kate : Thanks so much for the review hon and we'll definitely start to see more of Jack and Kate's back story. Hope you'll like this instalment._

_Lauren : Thanks for the review hon and I'm glad your still liking it._

_Milo86 : Thanks so much for the review and I too am starting to like this twist more and more. Hope you'll like this instalment._

_Philadelphia : Thanks for the review hon and yeah Jack's back story was quite sad but hopefully there will be brighter times now that Kate is around. Hope you'll like this instalment. _

Enjoy

(7 months ago)

No matter how much her hope wished for it to be otherwise, the firm result it constantly offered was enough to convince her that it could never be swayed to her liking.

Of late she sensed a distinct change in him. At first she labelled it to be the most obvious reason of all, cheating, but in the end she was forced to dismiss it due to his constant assurance that it was nothing of the sort.

_So what was it, and why couldn't he jus tell her?_

This was the third test she had taken and each one came up with the same results, and the outcome lead her to believe that maybe it wasn't in her luck to have kids. However a firm knock on the locked bathroom door was enough to make her dismiss those thoughts for now.

"Come in." she instructed and seconds later she was met with her hurriedly moving husband of 10 months.

"Where are you going?" oddly enough he didn't seem to respond to anything she was saying at the moment. Instead he continued on with retrieving any necessary belongings of his from the bathroom leaving Kate more confused than ever.

"What are you doing?" she proceeded to enquire as she followed him out when he was done with his search.

"Why won't you tell me?" she demanded off him while grasping hold of his arm, and all he was left to do from that point onward was to still his actions. Feeling that she earned some sort of explanation, being that she was his wife. God, even the thought of that referral was enough to summon a sharp pain to sting his breaking heart.

_This wasn't supposed to happen, _he scolded himself for having invested a lot more than what he was instructed to follow through with originally.

"It's complicated Kate." he guiltily replied while bowing his head down in shame to accentuate how he felt about keeping things from her. It was the one thing he vowed their marriage would never inherit, despite his job and the level of discreteness it required of him in return.

"Try me." she challenged while placing her hands on her hips.

"I….I can't, I'm sorry." he stuttered to confess even though his heart was screaming out for him to tell her everything, cause in his heart he truly felt that she was worth the risk. However his undying love for her would never risk putting her life in danger for his mistake. So with that in mind he secretly made a decision and then dragged his feet towards the front door, and away from her and the life he tried his hardest to believe was the light at the end of that tunnel, but he should have known better.

_One way or another, he would have been found out and it would kill him if she ever knew the truth. The real reason he was brought into her life._

"You're leaving me?" she asked, clearly astounded that this was actually happening.

_What did she do?_

"Ethan, please don't do this." Kate pleaded with him one last time while trying to suppress the tears that had already managed to fall.

"I have to." he whispered to the space before him and then walked out, feeling the pain in his heart grow with each step he took, but he was doing this all for her, for them.

(End of flashback)

Following her painful confession about her husband's death, he felt the need to give her some time alone to overcome her existent grief, but his growing worry over her well being won out in the end, and with that he proceeded to try one last time.

"Hey" he formally announced himself as he entered a scene that forced him to frown with worry, and it excelled even further when it failed to break her out of her catatonic like state.

"The drugs we gave you when we brought you here have a pretty serious side-effect -dehydration. Your head is probably sore, your throat is raw. If you don't eat or drink something soon you're going to start hallucinating."

"So now you're a Doctor?" was all Kate had to say to that with a smile and a raise of the eyebrows adorning her fatigued features in, and he just chuckled in return, but it soon faded when he suddenly caught sight of her almost dozing off as a result of her growing fatigue and hunger.

"Look Kate, you don't have to answer any questions. You don't have to do anything but sit with your back up against the far wall. Let me open that door, put the plate down and leave. I know it feels like you're giving up, like you're losing, if you do anything that I ask you to. But you're not….."

"You need to eat." Jack finished and stressed with utmost concern in his voice, and it was then that the brunette lifted her head to focus on him and his words. The outcome forcing her to slowly relent in the end.

"Thank you Kate." he graciously offered while exiting the room, leaving the brunette to formulate some sort of plan in the meantime.

(4 months ago)

"Ok, thank you." she offered while letting out a sigh as she placed the phone back on the receiver. She was slowly running out of options at this point being that, that was her last lead to help bring her closer to finding out about her husband's current whereabouts.

That was all she had been doing ever since he left. Firmly believing in her heart and mind that there was still time to fix this, especially now.

_Where the hell was he?, _she honestly wondered as she tried to wrack her mind for any hints to his whereabouts, and when that seemed to fail she then resorted to searching the house for any clues.

A half an hour into her search and she came out with nothing but more memories to weaken the barricade on her emotions.

The first thing she found was the post-it note with the words _"IOU" _scribbled over it. Their first anniversary together and that was all he had to offer, but she laughed at the memory of what happened later on that day, much to her surprise.

_Where did it all go wrong? _Was the question she then asked herself as she continued to find more memories of her marriage. However her face contorted into an expression of confusion when she found a business card with a name she had never heard of before.

"Who the hell is Charles Widmore?" she muttered while taking note to gaze at the business card once again. The phone number beneath the name giving her some semblance of hope.

**Well there you have it guys. A little info on Kate's back story, more importantly the identity of her husband and let me tell you that this Ethan is completely different to the one on the show as you'll see in later chapters. Come next chapter and we'll find out a little more about Kate's backstory. So what do you think guys?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Back again guys and with a bit more of Kate's back story to tell, and this new bit of information might surprise you to say the least, or at least I'm hoping so, hehe. As always thanks so much for all the positive feedback guys. Whether it be reviewing, favouriting, alerting or reading for that matter. It shows me that you care about this fic and I love that, so thank you and I hope you'll like this instalment as well.**

_JJ : First off thanks so much for the review and as the story progresses we might start to see more and more of Widmore. Hope you'll like this instalment._

_Didgeridoo : Thanks for the review hon and yeah I thought having Ethan being her husband in this fic would be a bit of a change. Hope you'll like this instalment._

_Aneesa : Glad your still liking this story hon and thanks for the review. Hope you'll stick around for more._

_Lostsalingerscout : Thanks for the review hon and this is definitely one of the many twists to come within this fic. _

_Lauren : hehe, sorry for nearly giving you a heart attack hon. I should attach some kind of warning along with the disclaimer lol. Anyhoo thanks so much for the review hon and answers will come._

_Aliaslover14 : Thanks so much for the review hon and I love that your liking this. _

_Kate : Thanks so much for the review hon and I too am getting more and more into this story, and we'll start to see more and more references to Widmore popping up. Hope you'll stick around for more._

Enjoy

_(4 months ago)_

"_Charles Widmore?" she mumbled again while trying to wrap her mind around some sense of familiarity with the name, as she dialled in the number listed beneath it._

_**I'm sorry but the number you have dialled is incorrect.** _

_She immediately frowned once again when she was awarded with this response instead of some sort of starting point to her husband's current whereabouts. _

_Where are you? She muttered as she hung her head in defeat, allowing for her tears to finally fall knowing that this was it. She was never gonna see him again no matter how hard she tried, and all she was left with now was the loneliness she would have to embrace for the rest of her life, and within that moment she suddenly felt something hurriedly rising from deep within her. The all familiar sensation alerting her senses before it was too late._

_Come to think of it she had been feeling a little off today but she felt her growing pain and grief was the sole reason for it, but upon further inspection these symptoms weren't very reminiscent of any normal illness caused by heart break. No, this was something else altogether. So with that in mind she went out to retrieve hold of something she thought she would never use again. _

_She was seriously astounded with the range of tests available to buy, but her eyes suddenly fell on one brand in particular. The words "Widmore labs" causing her eyes to widen in shock and then relief, especially when she caught sight of the manufacturer's location on the back of the box._

_**PO BOX 416** _

_**23 Rich Avon St** _

_**Sydney, Australia** _

_With that address firmly lodged in her mind, she walked towards the counter with the pregnancy test in tow._

_(End of flashback)_

She had her eyes focused on the door to her cell the whole time. Her mind signalling for the right moment to strike, and as soon as she saw the door finally opening, she sprinted full force towards it, knocking Jack completely off his feet and onto the floor. His head making a solid hit with the edge of the concrete bench located within the cell, knocking him out completely, and for a few minutes Kate just stared at his now unconscious form feeling a tinge of guilt for resorting to this but it was the only way she could escape this prison.

"_Let it go Kate"_

She suddenly heard a seemingly undecipherable voice speak through the intercom to her cell. The same one she was assured hadn't worked in years. Never the less she continued on with her journey and walked out into the hallway. Her eyes surveying for any possible means of escape, but all she was awarded within the next minute was that voice warning her again. The source now coming from the speaker installed just above a closed hatch door.

"Kate, don't…." a recovering Jack warned with all the determination he could muster as she made the first step towards the hatch door. However her determination to fulfil her growing curiosity of what lay behind the door blocked out all form of reason from the outside world at that moment, and with that she quickened her pace, continuously ignoring Jack pleas for her to comply otherwise.

The first thing she heard as she turned the wheel to the hatch door was a loud rumble, and it was followed by a huge gush of water forcing itself through the restriction that held it all this time. Knocking down everything in it's path, including the gob smacked brunette who was instantly knocked out by the force .

"KATE!!" Jack shouted as he tried to swim his way through the gathering current. When he finally got to her floating body, he wound his right arms around her while trying to shut the hatch door by using his body weight. Thankfully he was in the right position to make that a possibility and once he managed to close it by lying against it, he pressed the yellow button located next to door and took a pre longed sigh of relief while sub- consciously holding the brunette closer to him. Her pulse weak at first to his touch and that instinctively pushed him to try the basic methods of resuscitation, but before he could engage in the process, she suddenly came to spurting out a mouthful of water as she did so.

"Good, good. Just let it all out." Jack found himself coaxing as he rubbed her back in a soothing motion, and when she calmed somewhat, he sighed in relief once again.

(Meanwhile)

A pair of watchful eyes in the surveillance room took note of the whole situation and smiled in his usual creepy way.

"Interesting" the person mused as their eyes focused on every action of the scene. The end result sparking the perfect plan for them to initiate in an attempt to get what they wanted.

(Flashback)

_The moment she came back from the store, she got on the phone and booked the earliest flight out to Sydney, and then packed a few things. Feeling that the only thing she needed right now was to see him again. The very thought of him was enough to also remind her of the other thing a part of her wished would finally happen for her cause she felt that maybe the possibility of a baby might just rekindle what she and Ethan once had. However she also braced herself for the worst, learning the hard way from her past experiences._

_Fortunately she had a few hours to kill before her flight so she quickly took the test and anxiously waited for an answer._

_Ding_

_The timer suddenly went off signalling that it was time, and with a deep breath taken she finally retrieved the white stick looking for some semblance of hope, and she could hardly believe her eyes with the result she earned this time.The very possibility of it astounding her to say the least. It was like her prayers had finally been answered._

"_I'm pregnant." she joyously concluded while eliciting the first smile she had shown in months. _

_2 hours later and she was hurriedly making her way through the bustling entrance of LAX airport only to then find out that her flight was delayed for a further 2 more hours. Her first option was to simply wait it out but she found herself growing rather thirsty as the time dragged on. So she made her way to the nearest bar, firmly reminding herself with a knowing smile that alcoholic drinks were definitely out of the question._

"_What can I get you Miss?" the bartender asked as he approached her._

"_Uh….just a coke." she responded with a friendly smile and he just nodded in agreement while muttering a "coming up."_

"_This seat taken?" a voice suddenly asked, pulling Kate out of her thoughts so she could focus on the person next to her._

"_Uh….nope." she faintly nodded while hesitantly gesturing with her eyes for him to sit._

"_I'm Christian." the man introduced himself while hailing his half empty glass in the air to show her his sentiment in his own half drunken way.. _

"_Kate." the brunette humbly offered in return, feeling nothing but regret for letting this man sit next to her in the first place._

"_So where are you headed, Kate?" the old man asked in an attempt to make conversation and for a split second Kate felt like ignoring him for some reason. The most pressing one being the strong smell of liquor she could smell under his breath. Never the less she put on a fake smile and gave him a straight answer, hoping he would keep to himself as a result of her hesitance to converse with him._

"_Why Sydney?" he then proceeded to ask as he took a swig of his drink. His eyes noting how uncomfortable she was on the subject, but never the less he remained silent and gave her the time to formulate something._

"_Just have to take care of a few things is all." she replied while trying to excuse herself. Making the excuse she was late for her flight or something, but as she made the move to do so Christian decided to just come clean and come out with it. His drunken demeanor dissipating into thin air._

"_Let it go Kate." he more or less warned her while downing the rest of his drink._

"_Let go of what?" she tried asking while offering him a baffled expression, but he saw right though it and then continued on with what he had to say._

"_Of what your hoping to find in Sydney, because if it is what I think it is then your in way over your head." he simply explained and when the brunette failed to absorb his words, he took initiative of the situation and escorted her towards the waiting area saying………._

"_Maybe we should talk."_

(End of flashback)

**Come next chapter and we'll find out more about Christian's involvement in all of this. All I can say is that he was there for a reason. Plus don't worry guys cause the jate interaction will start to flow and progress with each chapter, I promise. Just keep in mind that I'm working with the whole "damaged goods" concept here, so over the duration of this fic we'll see that play out with both Jack and Kate, in the present and in their flashbacks. Plus we'll finally get to see some of the other survivors of Flight 815 and some old faces that may still be around, alive and kicking lol.**

**So what's the verdict guys? **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Hehe, I can see Christian's debut has made an impression, and believe me he'll be making an even bigger one within the duration of this fic. So without further interruption here it is guys and as always thanks so much for all the positive feedback. Hope you guys will like this instalment as well ;)**

* * *

Enjoy

This was starting to become nothing but a boring old routine for him. At first he found a valid point to it but three years later and he grew rather tired of having to live every day in the same way, but that all changed as of yesterday.

He honestly had no idea what she was thinking, doing something as stupid and reckless as that. Although he figured that it was expected to a certain extent, but still he couldn't dismiss her sheer amount of capability as an individual. However he felt he could relate to her desperation on some level. His own need to fix things forcing him to resort to a similar kind of desperation.

_(Flashback - 2 years ago)_

"_How far along is she?" he asked as he stepped foot into their best attempt at a surgical room. _

"_4 and a half months." a nurse answered as she tried her best to maintain the patient lying virtually lifeless beneath them._

"_Damnit." the frantically working Doctor muttered under his breath when he saw no change whatsoever in his attempts to finally fix this problem._

"_BP is dropping." the nurse situated at the heart rate monitor warned despite knowing what would happen judging by the fact that this had happened 2 times already this week. None of them could explain the exact cause for this fatal symptom, not even their newly appointed "Island Doctor" but thing was for certain ; there was simply no way to beat it. _

"_Call it. Time of death 2.15 pm." he then heard one of the second Doctor's on call announce while he just drifted into his usual state of helplessness and frustration. The latter winning effortlessly when he heard the words he had tried to prove wrong so many times over._

**"_You just don't have it in you Jack."_ **

_Later that night he decided to bury himself within the cluttered depths of the lab he was given as a part of his job. His mind going over every possibility to construct a cure for this bizarre "disease" once and for all. _

"_Knock, knock." a voice suddenly spoke from the entrance to his office and it literally took every ounce of strength in Jack to lift his head and regard his visitor._

"_Hey Jen." he spoke with an affirmative nod while taking note to hide any evidence relating to what he was aiming to achieve._

"_Bit of a busy bee today are we." the brunette joked but she could she see that he was from being in the mood for it._

"_Look, Jen I don't mean to be rude or anything but I'm really busy at the moment so…….."_

"_No." she simply replied while adorning an expression of sheer determination to show how serious she was about this. _

"_No?" he repeated with a mixture of confusion and frustration in his tone. Both equally fuelling his body but her sheer dismissal of it forced him to resort to his anger. However he soon calmed himself down when he realised who this person really was to him, and the kind of impact she had made ever since he arrived here. _

"_As in your not gonna beat yourself up for this anymore. You tried your best Jack and….."Jen tried to explain with the utmost comfort and consolation in her demeanour, but Jack just played a deaf ear in response. His continuous failures over the past couple of weeks disheartening him to say the least._

"_Look, if you came here to issue a pep talk then you came to the wrong guy." Jack shot back a little harsher than intended but he was seriously at his wits end. Trying every possible way to ignore this offer of comfort cause he felt that he sure as hell didn't deserve it. _

"_I know what it feels like Jack…..she was my friend too." Jen stressed with a slight tremble in her voice, and for a few minutes he allowed himself to relive the grief for the loss of his latest patient, but he soon reverted back to his previous state and simply stared right back at the brunette while saying………_

"_It's not the same." _

_(End of Flashback)_

She groggily woke up to yet another unknown scenery. Although the elements within this scenery seemed fairly familiar in terms of what it was used for, and with that she attempted to place herself on her feet, wobbling slightly as she did so, but never the less she accomplished it in the end and then walked towards the line of showers.

The first thing she did was look around the room to find any trace to suggest that she was being watched, but thankfully that wasn't the case here, and with that she started to remove her clothes, then placing herself under the hot spray of water gushing uncontrollably over her body and forcing her to elicit as sigh of relief in response.

An entire fifteen minutes later and she finally turned the knob to the shower off, taking a few more moments to bask in the spirit of this tranquil moment but the sound of someone at the door was what alerted her in the end, and before she could grab the nearest towel the person on the other side had already let themselves in, a change of women's clothes in their hands.

"I brought you some clothes……Oh, I…….I'm.." a gob smacked Jack spoke as he tried to avert his eyes from her wet and very naked body standing behind the locker he was standing a few feet away from feeling nothing but embarrassment and shame for having invaded her privacy and in an attempt to make amends he placed his right hand over his eyes and handed her the dress he brought with his left. Once he felt her take hold of the outfit somewhat, he then turned himself around and waited for her to get dressed.

"I'm done." she numbly replied while trying to smooth out the creases in the dress she was wearing. An article of clothing she wouldn't normally class as her casual style but she wore it anyway, feeling that her complete compliance with these people might get her and her friends a shortened sentence.

"Nice." Jack found himself uttering with a nod of continuous agreement once he laid eyes on this almost unrecognisable woman he had only met a few days ago.

"Uhh…..thanks." she awkwardly replied and then frowned when her eyes suddenly fell upon the noticeable scar forming on the side of his head.

"Sorry about that." she felt the need to offer despite the opposing sides they had aligned themselves with, or that was what she was led to believe.

"Don't worry about it." he assured her while taking the chance to gaze at her more clearly. His eyes captivated by the shy smile she elicited in response, but that soon changed when he retrieved hold of something.

"I need you to put these on Kate." he instructed, hesitantly attempting to place the metal cuffs around the wrists of her hands.

"No." she answered instead, planning to play the last bargaining chip she had in finding out about her friends.

"Kate plea……"

"No!! I'm not moving an inch until I see them." her voice spoke with nothing but determination, and all he could do in response was think over his options while keeping a close eye on the aggravated brunette across from him.

"Kate I….."

"Hey Shepherd! What's going on in there?" an unidentifiable voice shouted from just outside the door to the room they were in at the moment, and when Jack failed to reply, the person then took initiative and let themselves in.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack found himself being questioned by the fairly stout man before him.

"Uh, nothing Tom. Nothing's going on." Jack hurriedly replied while proceeding to cuff the shocked brunette before him and when her hands were secured, Jack gently took hold of her arm and then escorted her to the place he was instructed to take her to.

"_It was time", _ that's all he had been told at the time, and he couldn't help but fuel his growing curiosity of Ben's true intentions, more importantly the role this woman beside him would play.

(Meanwhile - On the other side of the island)

"It's been 6 days Sayid, and I don't know about you but that concerns me."

"Yes it has, but maybe we should……." he tried reasoning with this man, but his efforts seemed relentless against the determination he sensed, and minutes later his attempts to reason with this man any further was rudely interrupted by someone else who seemed to be in a trekking mood as well.

"I'm in." the Southerner briefly announced while sharing a nod with the elderly man across from him, leaving Sayid to just become incredibly agitated by what he assumed to be an incredibly reckless and potentially fatal plan. One he felt he would have no choice but to be a part of.

"Fine." he relented, attracting the attention of the two people before him right away, and with that he packed a few essentials, along with one of the 6 guns they had managed to salvage from an unlikely but expected source.

"Thank you." the elderly man graciously stated while holding his hand out to the Iraqi man.

"I'm Christian by the way." he added as Sayid took hold of his hand. A friendly gesture that was abruptly cut short by someone down the beach yelling _"look" _ and then pointing towards a fairly visible object floating along the vast horizon.

* * *

**Guess Christian's changed a lot then, he's a flight 815er and all hehe. So what is this thing floating along the horizon? Anyway come next chapter and we'll find out the next stage of the "F 815" plan (that's what I'm calling the mission hehe). Plus we'll finally find out what Ben wants Kate for and the thing she'll recieve once she does what he wants. **

**P.S. The infamous story of flight 815 is slightly different in this fic as well.**

**So what do you think guys?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Here it is guys and once again thanks so so much for all the positive feedback. It really motivates me and it shows me that you care about this fic as much as I do, so thank you, thank you, thank you and please do keep them coming ;)**

Enjoy

_(4 months ago)_

"_Look, I think you must have me mistaken with somebody else cause I'm……"_

"_Your full name is Katherine Elizabeth Austen, your Mother Diane Austen died exactly 2 years ago of cancer and your Father Sam Austen is currently serving on the front line. How am I doing so far?" Christian mouthed off what he was required to knowledge himself with in an effort to gradually gain one thing in return, her trust. Although there was an ulterior motive to his actions._

"_Who are you?" was all she found herself asking in comparison to the thousand other questions looming around in her head at the moment. Each one leaving her more confused than ever._

"_It's not important." the elderly man answered with a frantic nod to affirm his statement. He truthfully was the least of these people's problems, but he had his fair share of dealing with them - the outcome awarding him with nothing but regret. Regret he found he could temporarily wash away with endless amounts of alcohol. _

"_Then what is?" she asked, her pace and tone growing frantic due to her frustration with this man. Why couldn't he just give her a simple answer. He at least owed her that much for barging into her personal life._

"_Do you even know who you're dealing with." Christian decided to put it in that way, knowing how it may have sounded but he felt himself running out of options. Her expected look of wariness confirming his growing assumptions._

"_Are you threatening me." _

"_Believe what you want Kate but believe me when I say this, all I'm trying to do is save you from facing an early demise. These people your husband worked for are ruthless in their methods to get exactly what they want." he cautiously warned the brunette before him and much to his luck he could see that she was slowly absorbing the effect and intent of his words._

"_Why do you care?" Kate genuinely inquired with the utmost curiosity in her heart. _

_**What could he possibly gain out of this? **_

"_Let's just say that I can relate to you on a weird but similar level." he shot back, slightly wincing at having to remember the thing he too had lost to these people. His hunger for power and wealth too much of a temptation to give up at the time, and now he was forced to live with the consequences of his selfishness._

"_I want to help you Kate." he added in an attempt to crumble her resolve once and for all. Although all he received in return for his efforts was a pre longed sigh from her. Their moment soon being interrupted by an announcement._

"_**Oceanic Flight 815 flying from L.A. to Sydney boarding now at gateway 12."**_

_(End of flashback)_

She literally dragged her feet the entire way, but she was forced to keep a substantial pace by the man walking alongside her. His hand grasping her arm as tight as he possibly. The pressure of his grip reminding her of the unfortunate fate she had gotten her and her friends into.

_Where were they? Were they even alive? _She questioned herself and immediately dismissed the possibility of referring them with the "D" word cause if these people wanted to accomplish such a sadistic task then she too would have been killed on the spot of their capture. Her overall opinion of these people backing up her argument considerably but she felt that there was perhaps an exception within this mysterious and conniving crowd. A person whom she felt was considerably different than the rest but she also considered the possibility that his nice act was just a ploy to play her like an instrument for the man he worked for. The man she now saw sitting at a table on the beach.

_What the hell?_

"Morning." the small, creepy man announced while signalling for her to sit in the vacant chair opposite him. She was slightly uncertain of his intentions at this point, judging by the abundance of food and drink laid out on the table, but she decided to comply anyway. Her mind still focused on the primary objective, the well being of her friends.

"Mind if you keep those hands where I can see them." she found herself being cautiously warned as her hands naturally proceeded to place themselves over her lap.

"Thank you." he offered once she followed through with complying with his wishes, a look of hatred and disgust failing to restrict itself from showing through her gaze. Weirdly enough the man across from her just smiled in response while pouring out a cup of coffee for her.

"I don't want it." she insisted in a determined tone and manner, but even that didn't seem to have any effect on him.

"What did you do with Kevin and Charlie?" she finally gained the will to ask him and he just smiled once again while attempting to speak his mind.

"Why him Kate?"

"What?" she spoke while furrowing her eyebrows in confusion of understanding the point the was trying to get at here.

"You said his name first. _What did you do with __**Kevin**__ and Charlie?" _

"You don't know me." she shot back in an accusing manner, and he just raised his eyebrows in response while smiling to himself at the fact that he was already getting to her.

_Maybe this would be easier than I thought, _he told himself while attempting to come back with a retort in an effort to maintain a cover over his true intentions.

"Of course I don't." he tried convincing her while allowing his eyes to finally fall upon their present scenery.

"Where are they?" she asked, with a laboured sigh for having to ask it for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

"Beautiful isn't it." the man commented with a peaceful smile, but that didn't seem to be the case with his guest. No, she was thinking more along the lines of strangling this moron's neck with all the power her rage had mustered. However she calmed herself down in the end and resorted to the civilised approach.

"Why did you bring me here? Why did you make me put on this dress? Why are you feeding me breakfast?"

"I brought you here so you'd look out at the water and feel comforted -- comforted that your friends were looking out at the same ocean. I gave you the dress so that you'd feel like a lady. And I wanted you to eat your food with a real live fork and feel civilized. I did all those things so that you'd have something nice to hold on to. Because, Kate, the next two weeks are going to be very unpleasant……" he went onto explain as he continued to look out towards the vast crystal blue sea before him and when he finally felt it was time to lay it out, he focused his gaze solely upon her and then conveyed what he hoped would effect her on a monumental level.

"For you and your friends…….Kevin especially if you don't agree to our deal." he warned, taking note to emphasise on his name cause he was well aware of the brunette's involvement with this man.

"What deal?" she inquired while trying her level best to conceal the genuine fear she felt as a result to his warning.

(Meanwhile)

After the incident in the locker rooms he had decided to shy away from the outside world or more so the quarters he had been subjected to reside within cause any area exceeding those bounds was often regarded as the domain of the mysterious natives. A thing he had been told very little of when he first arrived here and at the time he was too distracted by the new medical related breakthroughs that could be accomplished to even give anything else a lick of thought. However that all changed when he started to learn more about the things these people tried to hide, more so the methods they used to accomplish such medical breakthroughs.

He briskly walked towards the direction of his assigned quarters for the time being, and once he was within it's confines, he let out a sigh of breath he didn't even know he'd been holding in the entire way here.

_What happened?, _was all he found the courage to ask himself as he paraded the length of his room, deep in thought to find an answer. In all his years of being in this place, he had rarely felt anything like this. All he did know now was that he had to try and rid himself of it because he knew that feeling that way again would only cause him unnecessary heartache, and he was convinced that, that was what he would receive if he continued to see and regard this woman like a friend rather than an opposing prisoner.

At first glance she was undoubtedly beautiful and bore a striking resemblance to someone he had known or perhaps met before, but never the less she was definitely something in his eyes. Much like a song you had just heard and couldn't seem to get out of your head, but in his case it was one moment that got to him the most. The moment she had so brokenly revealed the reason she was on Flight 815, and it was within that minute that he felt the hint of a spark ignite his steadily beating heart. The kind of spark he hadn't felt or experienced ever since his marriage when he had a perfectly valid reason to feel that way.

_What was his excuse now?_

(Back on the other side of the island)

"Is it rescue?" someone shouted from the crowd gathering at the edge of the beach, their eyes firmly set on an unidentifiable but prominent object floating a few miles away.

"Rescue boat." a small boy expressed with delight while looking up at his gob smacked Father for some audible form of agreement.

"What do you think it is?" an equally shocked Christian inquired of the two men standing alongside him.

"Don't know, but I ain't waiting here to find out." the Southerner responded while attempting to remove his shoes and socks.

"Wait!! We don't even know if…….." the old man attempted to argue in regard to the weird feeling he suddenly felt surfacing within the pit of his stomach.

"Look, "_Dick" _I'm all for getting freckles and the gang back too but I wanna get off this damn island already." was all the blonde shaggy haired man offered before he broke through the crowd to swim towards this object ; Sayid and a few of the others joining him just in case this turned out to be some sort of trap.

Was it a trap, or would it finally signify the end of their seemingly endless wait for rescue?

All the survivors could do was hope and pray as they anxiously watched and waited for a sign.

**So is it rescue or is it indeed a trap? What is the deal Ben has for Kate and what extents will he go to, to get it? Of course Kate will not be very compliant at first and within the next few chapters we will see that happening but amazingly enough she's convinced to comply by an unlikely source. **

**Yes, this is the same Kevin from the show but his involvement with Kate in this fic is far from similar to that of the show. They're just really good friends or more so Kate feels that they are, but we shall see how that plays out as well later on. **

**The subject of Kate's pregnancy will also be touched on in the next chapter.**

**Although I'm gonna contain myself for the time being and anxiously await for you guys to tell me what you thought of this chapter. **

**P.S. The whole thing about Flight 815 flying from L.A. to Sydney instead of the other way around has been done for a specific reason and you'll certainly find out that reason later on. All I can say is Ben is not as smart and conniving as he thinks he is. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**So is it indeed rescue or something else? We'll definitely touch on that in the next few chapters but with every story comes a beginning or more so a particular "plane crash" in this case………..**

**P.S. Thanks so much for the lovely reviews guys. Your theories and opinions get me even more hyped abut this fic so please don't stop doing it cause they really make my day :)**

Enjoy

_(3 months ago)_

"_What was taking him so long." she wondered while sneaking a glance behind her seat to hopefully catch a glimpse of him, but all she was rewarded with instead was a frightful shake._

_Ladies and gentleman, the pilot has put on the fasten seatbelt signs. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. _

_Somehow she didn't feel comforted by the instruction in the slightest but never the less she followed through with it, making sure her seatbelt was secured enough to relieve her childhood fear of flying. However as her gaze travelled to the right, she could see that she wasn't the only one suffering with the same fear._

"_It's normal, just take deep breaths and……" the brunette felt the need to offer in a friendly tone but she was forced to stop half way through when they were hit with another jolt of turbulence. _

"_Right back at ya." the person across from her shot back with a smile._

"_I take it your not a very good flyer as well." the person added while checking to see if their seatbelt was secured too._

"_What gave it away?" the brunette joked and then erupted into a fit of laughter along with the man._

"_My wife keeps reminding me that planes wanna be in the air." the man explained while checking behind him to see if his wife was back from the toilet yet._

"_Well, she sounds like a very smart woman." the brunette firmly commented with a smile. One he took note to share with mainly because it was true. _

"_I'll be sure to tell her that when she comes back……."_

"_I'm Kevin by the way." the man revealed while holding his hand out for her to shake and it seemed to be a bit of a task for him due to the fact that he was strapped to his seat, but as if sensing his restriction, the brunette temporarily freed herself from her seat and leaned forward to accept his physical friendly gesture, but she was forced to freeze the next minute when the plane experienced it's third and final shake. The end result determining the fate for every survivor of one Flight 815._

_She woke with a gasp and then grew rather confused by her present surroundings. Every direction looked the same to her but the faint cries of someone she then heard was thankfully enough to give her something to follow. However as she made the move to sit up, she was suddenly hit with a wave of pain striking her abdomen area, and she couldn't help but contort her face to express the extent of it's effect. _

"_My baby." was the only thing she then kept on mouthing as the pain unfortunately worsened. Her secr_ etly _knowing what this could have meant but a part of her still hoped that it wasn't, but the deep red liquid she then witnessed surfacing on the material of her trousers was enough to form a firm result for the present condition of her baby._

"_Help! Help me!" she heard someone now shouting in the distance and without a second thought she put her emotions to the side and dealt with the task at hand. _

(End of Flashback)

Her conversation with the assumed leader of her captors was creepy to say the least but the conditions of his deal was constantly playing on her mind. So much so that she didn't see where she was being escorted to now. Not until she heard her name being called out from the cage directly opposite from where she stood.

"It's seems your escape attempt ruined the foundations of your previous living quarters, so this is gonna have to do for now." Tom briefly explained while roughly escorting her into the vacant cage. The cuffs around her wrists still clasped tight to the point where it caused an itchy rash to form on the surface of her skin, and her physical way of showing this discomfort didn't go unnoticed by Tom, but he chose not to remove them just yet. Not until he was standing on the other side of this cage, and once he was he asked for her to put her hands through the bars.

"They scratched you up pretty bad, didn't they? I'll bring you some anti-septic later." Tom offered with a smile that elicited a look of disgust from the pale and tear streaked brunette, but instead of aiding her disgust with a statement, she chose to bow her head in a shame like stance instead.

Once Tom was long gone she looked up once again and immediately locked eyes with her new cell mate,

_Kevin?_

His nod and smile of assurance comforting her somewhat but still it didn't the conditions they were forced to live with now. Conditions she knew would be tightened considerably if she refused to agree to the deal she was offered.

"Kate!! You okay?" she found herself being asked and rather than responding with the cold hard truth she just smiled while mouthing a silent word of agreement.

"You?" she then asked feeling more than obligated to do so because she felt that this was all happening because of her, a plan that backfired in more ways than one.

"I'm great., got my very own fish biscuit slot machine and all. Two pushes and a shock away from earning the ultimate treat." the man went onto explain, earning a light hearted chuckle from the brunette.

"Have you seen Charlie?" She asked and frowned when he slowly shook his head from side to side.

"So what's all this talk of an escape attempt?" he then proceeded to ask in an effort to award his assumptions of what he overheard earlier.

"Well there's not much more to say apart from that." she explained a little more harsher than intended, and she was quick to mutter a silent apology for it, but she still couldn't help but feel outraged and extremely defeated as a result of these people demands, particularly the conditions of the deal she was offered merely minutes ago. How heartless did they think she was for crying out loud.

"You hungry?"

"Starved." she truthfully responded while suddenly realising how hungry she actually was. So she anxiously waited and hoped that she was within perfect throwing range for the fish shaped biscuit to be thrown and luckily on the first try she caught it and immediately bit a large chunk of the chalky tasting treat.

The whole time the man across from her just smiled at the scene he was witnessing, while feeling a deep sense of accomplishment at being able to care for her in the way he had tried to so many times before. All he needed was for her to know it and hopefully feel the same way for him in return, but that was certainly easier said than done.

_(Flashback - 3 months ago)_

_All he was seeing now were random images moving swiftly before his eyes. Each one more or less screaming out the name of an assumed loved one. Speaking of loved ones where was Juliet, he wondered while allowing the realisation of his present surroundings to kick in. They had crashed, their plane had crashed and now he was left with nothing but a few cuts and bruises to mark the event of this tragedy._

"_JULES!! JULES!!" he kept on calling out hoping with every fibre of his being that he would catch sight of his wife somewhere within this frantic crowd, but all he got in return were the cries of the people running around him, and also the piercing shriek of one of the abandoned engines lying dangerously close to where he was standing at the minute._

"_Help!! Please help me!" he suddenly heard a man screaming in anguish due to the fact that his legs were trapped beneath a massive piece of the plane. His first instinct was to continue on with his search for his wife but he relented in the end and acted on his selfless instincts, bending himself down to help this injured man._

_Ten minutes into it and he was getting nowhere, so he ran to get some extra help. His efforts awarding him with a considerably good amount of men who were willing to aid in the task at hand, but they were forced to abandon it the next minute when an explosion suddenly erupted. The extent of it's blast firmly determining the fate of the man he and a few other men were trying to help. _

_Once he came to as a result of being knocked clean off his feet, he resumed with trying his level best to help the man below him, but he could that it was useless cause he was long gone._

"_Damnit." he muttered under his breath and before he could take his next breath, he heard a faint and delicate voice calling out for help. A short brunette woman hunched over and grasping the side of her belly, giving him the clear inclination that she was pregnant. So with that he ran with all his might to tend to her. His skills in medicine fairly basic, but he still had faith in himself that he could help her somewhat._

"_Whoa, just take it easy……deep breaths." he immediately instructed as soon as he reached her._

"_My baby. So….so much blood please. Please help me." she offered in broken words but he grasped the basis of what she meant and he couldn't help but dismiss the fear he felt in response to her words, but he chose not to voice his concern just yet. Instead he chose to acquire more evidence to confirm his assumptions._

"_How far along are you?"_

"_A month…..a month and 10 days." she struggled to offer as the pain excelled to a point where she couldn't feel anything else. _

"_Listen to me, we're gonna….. you're going to be okay, understand me. But you have to sit absolutely still." he spoke to her while attempting to search for any sign of help to assist him and when he turned up with nothing, he sighed to himself and then reached down to carry the woman before him into his arms. Her resolve to fight him in any way proving useless due to the blood loss, and seeing proof of that confirmed his growing suspicion, and at that very moment he dismissed every plaguing thought other than the ones he felt would pull her though this hard time._

(End of Flashback)

_Knock, knock_

He felt a surprising amount of relief at hearing the sound but the feeling was unfortunately short lived when he saw who was at his door.

"Hello Jack. Mind if I come in?"

"Do I have a choice?" he shot back at the man he was slowly starting to loathe as a result of being kept in the dark, again and again.

"What is this really all about Jack?" the small creepy man decided to ask, secretly sensing the distinct change in this man ever since the arrival of their newest prisoners.

"Nothing." Jack muttered under his breath while walking further into the interior of his living quarters.

"Is this about her?" he suddenly found himself being asked and he came to an immediate halt in response, eliciting a victorious smile from the man behind him.

"If that's what you're here for then you've wasted a trip so why don't you just……………" Jack hurriedly mouthed off in a hateful tone and manner, but he was abruptly cut off by the man behind him who simply said……….

"What you do with your life is entirely your business Jack, but all I'm saying is that you might wanna think twice about getting involved too much. It might just backfire in your face when you least expect it."

**So will Jack take note of Ben's warning and back down, or will he allow his feelings to take complete control from here on? I know that this chapter kind of lacked a bit in the jate department, but it's only a matter of time before it surfaces and when it does, it will come in waves. I can assure you of that. I won't take as long as the show, hehe.**

**Come next chapter and we'll finally find out what was lurking on the horizon and what it will mean for the survivors. **

**So what do you think guys? Would you like to see more or have I completely lost the plot now? **

**P.S. The second flashback was actually Kevin's, or more so his perspective of witnessing the crash. Just wanted to let you guys know that and yes Juliet is his wife. A story that will be discussed and maybe even re surfaced later on, but who knows at this point eh, hehe.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Continue it is eh guys, hehe. First off what an episode!! I don't think I've flat lined so many times but each time was more than worth it. It just proves who the OTP couple of this show is and it's just a matter of time before they reconcile in the FF's. Just keep in mind that the finale isn't far off guys, moi has a gut feeling. Thanks so much for the reviews and here's the next mystery filled instalment ;)**

Enjoy

A week later and she was moved back to her previous living quarters and at this point she was physically too weak to fight them yet again. She had eaten barely anything in the last week as well so staying in the soaring heat any longer would have made matters worse and Ben couldn't have that, well not just yet anyway.

So here she was, back in her old cell and left to contemplate on her options concerning the deal she was forced to agree to, and before she could form some sort of feasible plan she was momentarily interrupted by someone opening the door to her cell at that moment.

"Hi. I uh….I brought you something to eat." A surprisingly nervous Jack offered, but he tried his best efforts to hide it by allowing his features to grace a friendly smile.

"Thanks." She muttered, catching him by surprise and with that he placed the covered tray of food and leaned against the edge of the metallic bench which stood in the middle of her cell.

"You okay?" he found himself asking without a thought to consider, and before he could somehow apologize for the sheer crudeness of his statement, she offered him something he never thought he would receive, a smile.

Although while his mind accepted it in a sincere way, hers took it in a somewhat strategic manner, and as much as a part of her felt almost bad about doing it she knew her options were fairly slim at the moment.

"You want to guess what's for lunch." Jack added, deciding to lighten up the spirit of the moment.

"I'm not….I'm not big on mysteries" she tiredly replied, but still tried to sound somewhat interested and the more she gazed at him, the more she felt like relenting willingly.

"Of course you're not." He announced right before he lifted the silver platter to reveal something that had her laughing out loud. The sound oddly soothing to his ears but he shrugged off the warming sensation he felt as a result.

"You people have cheeseburgers?" she remarked, genuinely astonished at the utterly mouth watering sight her eyes were witnessing at the moment.

"You have no idea what I went through to make this for you. I killed the cow, processed the meat, baked the bun. And the fries... try rendering animal fat." Jack explained as he placed the tray next to the famished brunette.

"No ketchup?" she asked despite knowing the unlikely possibility of having something like that here, but she felt the need to ask anyway, only rousing a smile from him in return as he leaned himself against the metallic slab that she was forced to call the next best thing to a bed.

"So…" Jack started out but was forced to shut himself up when none other than Ben rushed in with his best attempt at a terrified look, but no matter what it still came off creepy.

"I'd like to talk to you." Ben announced in a hurried manner faintly suggesting that something was wrong but the other two people in the room hadn't quite caught onto that train of thought just yet, and Jack was honestly quite frustrated with the way Ben just barged in unannounced.

"Ok, so talk to me." Jack suggested while attempting to place himself in a seated position upon the metal bench.

"Alone. Please" Ben stressed with the utmost seriousness and determination within his tone, and Jack couldn't help but voice his growing concern over the matter, choosing the discrete approach of course.

"I'm okay with her being here."

"And I'm thrilled you finally feel that way, but Jack it's private. Doctor – patient confidentiality." Ben explained hoping to God that Jack would go along with it because time was already running out and wasting anymore could prove fatal for the case.

"What is this about? Can't it wait?" Jack tried as a last ditch effort, knowing he was overstepping the boundaries here but he couldn't care less at this point.

"Well she can't wait Jack." Ben simply put it that way, forcing the man opposite him into a state of confusion and concern.

"What are you talking abou……."

"The sub is back. We have a situation so come with me now." Ben added but it still failed to make an impression on Jack so he decided to just come out with it, hoping that it would grab his attention once and for all, but he still strived to remain discrete over the matter.

All Kate saw and heard from that point onwards was a muffled name being accompanied with the words _"they shot her"_ and Jack simply darted out the door without a second thought to consider. His mind solely on the well being of the one person he had learned to trust in the short space of time they had gotten to know each other and despite the complicating circumstances at the time, they had gradually learned to accept and embrace the connection they always shared.

_Please don't let it be_ , he kept on mumbling to himself as he walked towards their Hospital infirmary.

* * *

Thankfully the unidentifiable object now merely feet away from them failed to change it's course of movement, but what puzzled them was that it seemed to resemble something else altogether when they finally approached it.

"There." He pointed out and then swam towards the designated area with Sayid, Sawyer and another guy in tow.

It was a hover craft, or more so what was left of it. The left wing had completely broken off, but what stuck out somewhat odd was the large and noticeable sign on the side of the practically ruptured fuselage. The imprinted word "Dharma" sparking fear and wonder at the same time.

"Nad……..Nadia…….." came a sudden moaning from within the fuselage and all three men were frantically pounding on the jammed door within seconds of hearing that sound, while Sayid retrieved hold of his loaded gun ; at the same time trying to find another way in.

Barely minutes later and their efforts to break in were suddenly awarded with shots being fired from within the fuselage, and then a clicking sound was heard along with a muttered _"Damnit"_ when the firing seized to continue.

All Sayid did from there on was signal to strike at a designated time, and with mouthing the fifth count he gave the signal and all three men kicked in the door to reveal the hunched silhouette of a drunken man immediately acting on instinct and placing his hands in the air when he caught sight of his visitors.

"You." The man then suddenly spoke in an almost knowing way when he caught sight of Sayid.

* * *

Several thoughts loomed through Kate's head at that moment but nothing could compare to the chills she felt whenever she was in the presence of this man.

"What?" she finally asked in frustration over his wordless stare.

"Do you miss him?" Ben decided to ask, resorting to the crude approach but he had to break through that exterior and playing with her emotions seemed like a fairly good option at the moment.

"Excuse me."

"Ethan, do you miss him?" was all he said in response and as expected she was at a loss for words the next minute due to the sudden up rise of her emotions and Ben spared no time in taking advantage of the opportunity. So with that he walked towards her hunched form and then crouched down to her level.

"He loved you Ka………" Ben barely had the chance to get out before Kate chipped in with nothing but bitterness in her tone.

"Stop" she warned and he simply smiled to himself in response, feeling the time was just about right to lay out the conditions of the deal he had affirmed her off earlier on, but first he wanted to ask her something.

"Do you believe in God?"

"Do you?" she shot back, still emotionally distraught from being reminded of her painful past.

"Two days after I found out I had a fatal tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky. And if that's not proof of God, I don't know what is." He explained hoping that some of this would convey some sort of relevance as to what he was getting at here.

"You finished yet or do you want to bore me some more."

"Think about what I said Kate because doing it just might award you with the answer you've been looking for." Ben offered right before he left her alone in her cell to ponder over his words.

_What did he know?_

**Okay I was admittedly unsure about this chapter at certain points but I felt somewhat confident that the gears have already been set in motion and it's just a matter of time before they spiral out of control, but when has that ever stopped jate from happening lol.**

**So what does Ben know?**

**Who is this "she" Jack is so worried about?**

**Who is the "Hover craft guy" and how does he know Sayid?**

**All will be answered soon and even sooner if you guys let me know what you thought of this chapter, thankooo ;)**

**P.S. I wouldn't worry too much about this "she" guys cause her mission within this fic is to help not exploit. She's not a threat and there are vague signals within this chapter to also suggest her "connection" with Jack.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Back again guys and with a few more answers to share so without further adieu here we go and as always thanks so much for the reviews. You have no idea what it means to know that you guys care about this fic as much as i do, so thanks ;)**

Enjoy

_(2 years ago)_

_He had been on the island for over a year now__, working in a place he had least expected to ever work in, but the chances he was initially offered were simply too good to pass up, and in the end he found himself desperately wanting to know all about these new scientific discoveries, but it appeared that the manual seemed a lot more enticing than the real thing itself cause all he had been doing for the past year was experiments. _

_At first he was relatively enthusiastic about the idea but the strictly inhumane methods they used to further their ideas seemed insane to say the least. _

_Thankfully that wasn't the case with everyone, he thought feeling a sense of relief wash over him as he caught sight of the one person in this place who seemed more human than the rest._

"_Hey Claire." He offered as the blonde approached him with a friendly smile._

"_So how is he?" Jack then proceeded to ask when he sensed that something was troubling her mind. _

"_Oh, he's fine. It's like he's running laps in there." She joked while gently stroking the surface of her bulging tummy. The one living link she had to the man she loved right before he met an untimely fate a few months before. It still hadn't sunk in, but she tried her level best to cope with it, especially for their baby's sake. _

"_Good." He commented but still felt the need to voice his concern for her._

"_So what have you been up to lately?" he asked deciding to use the discrete approach and he was somewhat relieved that she was playing along with it. _

"_Not much you can do really when your stomach gets in the way all the time, but in answer to your question it's getting better." She replied with a look of amusement knowing what he was trying to get at, and it was times like these that really made her think as to whether they had known each other in a previous life or something._

"_You got me." He relented with a chuckle that soon turned serious when he sensed a similar change in her demeanour._

"_It will get easier Claire, I promise it will. Besides you got this little one to think of now as well." He coaxed as he hunched himself down to her seated level, his hand then brushing against her pregnant tummy in an effort to remind her that all was not lost._

"_Thanks Jack." _

"_Hey, what are friends for." He mused as he accepted the friendly embrace she offered as a physical form of thanks for the constant emotional encouragement he had given her through this tough time. _

_The friendship they had resembled that of an intense bond a brother and sister would share for example. Little did they know of the real truth. The very truth Ben would later use to his own advantage._

_(End of Flashback)_

Now he just stood there, frozen and trying to really wrap his mind around what he was seeing at the moment.

"Jack, what are you doing here?" one of the working surgeons asked as they caught sight of this distraught man at the doorway.

"Ben…….Ben told me." He stuttered to explain while his gaze remained focused on the unconscious blonde.

_When did this happen?_

"Is she gonna be okay?" he feared to ask knowing what his assumptions were already telling him, but still he strived to believe otherwise. That was until he was offered the harsh reality of Claire's present condition.

"It's looks bad Jack and she lost a lot of blood on the way here so we might have to perf….." the slender blonde woman offered in a sympathetic manner knowing how much Claire meant to him.

"A transfusion." He immediately suggested baffling the person opposite him.

"Jack what are you…….."

"You say she's lost a lot of blood so I'm gonna help ease that problem." He added as he walked over to the medical equipment. His eyes surveying the ways to make the transfusion a possibility rather than accepting the possibility that this might not work, because he never even knew her blood type to begin with.

"Jack you don't even know if this is gonna work. Besides it's not………"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!" he shouted in response growing tired of having to constantly do what he was told around here.

His outburst seemed to have shocked everybody else in the room as well, and with that they remained silent in order to let him proceed with what he had suggested, but that didn't stop one of them from convincing him that this was a bad idea.

"Jack, listen to me. You have to see this through. Maybe………"

"Don't" he warned the approaching woman, his mind already predicting the next words to come out of her mouth, and he firmly vowed to himself at that moment that he would have to be dead if he were to let Claire go so easily.

"What's her blood type?" he decided to ask at the last minute, mentally scolding himself for not having asked it earlier on, or even knowing it for that matter. Although in his defence a discussion about blood types wasn't an all common conversation starter.

"O negative. It's rare but…….."

"I'm O- Neg as well." He revealed without a thought to consider the odds of something like that happening, but never the less he proceeded in performing a procedure he hoped would make some sort of difference. Once everything was set in motion, he then asked for her chart specifying the details of her vitals and the precise positioning of where the initial shot was made, and he immediately cringed when he read the report, more precisely the words...

"**Possible** **Spinal Rupture**".

(Meanwhile)

"Sayid?" the man exclaimed in complete shock and he was rather surprised to find a gun pointing square between his eyes in response.

"Sayid it's me Khal……." The man tried to reason with him but Sayid seemed adamant in maintaining his physical proclamation of defence against this man. In fact the very sound of the man's voice was enough to fuel his anger even more. To the point where he now had him by the throat, and if it weren't for the people around trying to peel him off then Sayid was convinced he would have finished the job.

"GET OFF ME!!" he shouted at the men who tried to hold him back, but his demand was enough to make them back off, and once that was done he once again focused on the gasping man before him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I don't know." The dishevelled man simply responded as he tried to find his next breath, though his mind was still clear with the mission he was here to fulfil. A mission he was assured would offer him the one thing he wanted once and for all.

"Whaddya mean ya don't know." Sawyer shot exuding an obvious sense of frustration with this man and Sayid too felt the same way. Although he was slightly cautious in his approach for he was well aware of what this man was capable of, judging by their last meeting.

"I…..I don't remember." he stuttered in an attempt to show some level of shock towards the circumstances of his current surroundings.

_Do this for me Khalid and__ I promise that she will be with you. _

* * *

She wasn't one to just sit around and do nothing but she had no choice but to do that in this place. All she could do was sit in front of a TV and watch cartoons to help pass the time by, but all she could think about the entire time was what Ben said.

_What could he possibly offer,_ she asked herself and then took the time to consider the possibilities as the time seemed to drag by the minute, and by the end of it she was awarded with nothing but a buzzing silence which was mildly accommodated by the TV in the background, but that all changed within a matter of seconds when she was graced with the unexpected presence of an emotionally distressed looking…….

"Jack?" Kate questioned in genuine surprise over seeing him here and in this kind of state none the less. A tiny part of her felt an immediate urge to ask him what was wrong but he beat her to it in no time with a plea that surprised her once again, but never the less she kept an open mind to possibly consider it for some weird reason. For now she just put it down to her given nature to help whenever it was needed. No matter what the circumstance.

"Kate, I……I need your help." He asked hoping to God she would assist him in performing the one thing he could and would never do again, not after what happened with Sarah.

Kate on the other hand just continued to gaze at him, quickly thinking over her options over such a request and the last thing she heard from him was enough to then form a firm decision for her once and for all.

"Please, Kate."

**And this is where the shift will occur. Come next chap and we'll start to see a change in both Jack and Kate****, more so Jack as a result of Kate's decision. Now how will that affect Ben's way of thinking, hehe. We'll also find out more about Sayid's "friend" Khalid and maybe the people he's working for as well. Here's a little hint, it all leads back to ...I. The conflict between Sayid and Khalid revolves around this one thing.**

**So what do you guys think? Would you like to see a development of this "shift" or should i call it a day and plead insanity cause of my obsession with jate?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Hey guys, back again and with more twists to explore so without further adieu here it is and thankoo so much for the reviews. So glad you guys are liking it and Jate maybe making it's debut after all. I won't say anymore, just read and enjoy :)**

Enjoy

"_Kate, I……I need your help." He asked hoping to God she would assist him in performing the one thing he could and would never do again, not after what happened with Sarah._

_Kate on the other hand just continued to gaze at him, quickly thinking over her options over such a request and the last thing she heard from him was enough to then form a firm decision for her once and for all._

"_Please, Kate."_

Now she had two choices. She could either opt to help Jack out and have her friends killed and possibly her in the process as well, or she could just stay put and lie in her cell waiting to be showered with some semblance of hope that she would escape this madness. However she felt that doing this might just present her with an opportunity.

"Kate?" Jack frantically urged, snapping the brunette out of her thoughts and in turn willing for her to make one of the toughest decisions in her life, but as long as she stayed with the task in mind, she knew this would all be worthwhile for her and her friends in the end.

_Having someone on the inside._

"Let's go." She proposed with an affirming nod, and with that they were off leaving Ben smiling as he watched the whole thing on one of the surveillance cameras in the cell, as always his mind working on a way to make this new piece of information work to his benefit.

_It's only a matter of time._

* * *

"What happened?" was the first and most obvious thing Kate could form as she peeked through the glass window of the operation room, already looking to scrub up and begin the necessary surgery.

"Gunshot wound to the lower part of the stomach……no exit wound." Jack briefly explained as he took it upon himself to offer an extra pair of hands just in case it was needed.

"What the hell is she doing here?" a voice behind them announced in a harsh manner to say the least.

"She's a Doctor Danny, she can help Clair….."

"I don't damn well care if she's the Dali Lama Jack she has no right being here not after….." The emotionally distressed man shot back, allowing for his hate to take over as he stared at the brunette knowing that she was partly responsible for this in a way.

"Danny calm down man, it will….." Jack tried to reason out with the man but all his efforts earned up were being physically confronted by the man across from him, his intent clearly murder at this point.

"HEY!! STOP IT!!" Kate shouted and then tried to push the two men off with each other when Jack allowed for his distress to fuel his own anger to retaliate.

"What the hell is going on out there…….." an approaching voice behind the operation room doors exclaimed and then grew shocked by the scene they were then witnessing, but never the less reinforcements acted quickly on peeling the two fighting men off each other.

"Have you lost your mind Jack? You bring her here?" Tom interrupted as he pushed through the doors of the operation room to see what the commotion outside was all about.

"Tom she's here to help, you gotta trust me on this." Jack more or less pleaded as the minutes ticked away forcing Claire's condition to possibly worsen as a result, and he grew irritable at the fact that he couldn't find the courage to fix it no matter how much he convinced himself that he could if he stopped living in the past.

"TELL HER WHO DID THIS!! SHE OUGHT TO KNOW THAT!!" Danny shouted as he tried to fight through the two men who had restrained him from causing any more disturbances.

"I need him out of here." Kate calmly requested of Jack knowing that this ranting man would cause nothing but problems during such a tedious procedure she already assumed of what she had been told.

"THE HELL I WILL! WHO THE HELL MADE YOU BOSS DARLIN."

"Get him out of here." Tom ordered, hoping that some part of Danny would comply but it seemed he was beyond reasoning with, and to a certain extent he couldn't really blame him. Neither could Jack who also understood how much Danny cared for Claire.

"Danny, go." Tom urged one last time as he wordlessly nodded for Jack and Kate to commence with preparation for surgery. Although Danny was still adamant in his wishes to not let Kate so much as touch Claire, and with that he ripped himself from his human restraints and literally gunned for Kate, but didn't get the chance to when he then felt a firm hand push him a few steps back.

"Just go Danny, they got it." Tom assured not even believing himself but trusting in what Jack had assured him off.

(15 minutes later)

"I got the bullet out, but she's still bleeding." Kate exclaimed somewhat in relief but within seconds her eyebrows furrowed when her eyes fell on something that didn't seem quite right.

"What, what is it?" Jack hurriedly asked, trying to keep his emotions in check the whole time and trying to focus instead on the positive.

"Right upper quadrant; it's swelling badly." She explained and did her best to control the bleeding but Jack could clearly see that she needed a little help.

"I need you to clamp under the liver so I can get a look back there."

"Got it." Jack replied and then went to work, briefly astonishing Kate at how easily he went about it, almost knowing exactly what he was doing and that caused confused her a tad as a result.

_If he was so experienced at this then why did he need her here in the first place?_

Unfortunately that question would have to be answered some time later, especially when fountain of blood spewed out followed by Jack cursing as he tried to fix the problem.

"She's got a retro-hepatic caval bleed. It's behind the liver, that's why you missed it." Kate explained as Jack frantically worked to control the bleeding.

"Damnit, she losing too much blood." Kate barely had the time to express before the dreaded flat line sound filled the room forcing the brunette to go on the alert.

"The crash cart, now. Jack, I need paddles." She requested, growing frantic and frustrated when nobody in the room seemed to be moving including Jack.

"What's goi…….." she attempted to ask right before Jack cut her off saying…..

"It's broken. We've had... Kate, we haven't had anything happen before. We didn't -- we have -- I don't..." he regrettably explained right before he pulled off his surgical mask and then worked towards the wall, punching the hard surface while muttering a _"Damnit"_ and then finally succumbing to his emotions of what this meant. The dreaded words "Call it……time of death." confirming what he tried so hard to avoid, especially this time.

_Why did this have to happen?_

(Meanwhile – the Observatory chamber)

He was now looking at the image of his dead wife on a surgical bed. The majority of the surface covered in her blood, forcing his emotions to channel itself through his growing anger in an attempt to eliminate the cause once and for all.

"She did this. She did this." He repeated, his tone getting louder as he walked towards the assumed culprit, Tom quick to stop him once again from doing anything he would later regret.

"Danny, stop. You're not thinking straight, just…….. DANNY!!" Tom shouted when the man paid a deaf ear to his warning, and with that he trudged on downstairs towards the operation room knowing something bad was about to happen.

"I'm sorr….."

"What the hell did you do?" Danny immediately started accusing Kate the moment he barged through the doors, not caring about anything other than fuelling the fit of rage he was in.

"Hey!! Back off Dan…." Jack warned as he placed himself in front of the brunette within seconds of her being threatened.

"Or what?" Dan challenged not caring in the least about his life because it had just been taken away in a mere matter of minutes.

"OR WHAT SHEPHERD?" He then shouted when he failed to get an answer instead all Jack did was turn around to then escort Kate out, but as expected he was stopped by Danny on the way.

"You'd better watch out Jack cause if ya not careful that bitch might just shoot you in the back too." He warned with a dirty smirk on his face which was soon wiped off as Jack took a full forced swipe at him, knocking the man out immediately and eliciting a gasp of shock out of Kate.

He wasn't sure why he did it but he just couldn't seem to stand him talk so crudely about someone. Although he knew the real reason for the outburst went a little deeper than that, but everything was a little mixed up in his head at the moment so he simply let himself out to get some fresh air, leaving Kate to ponder over what just happened.

"Keep her here." Tom ordered as he briefly looked at Kate and then walked out following the same path Jack had made.

* * *

He couldn't feel anything or find the will to do so. It still hadn't sunk in yet that she was actually gone, and he honestly dreaded the time when he would be forced to accept it, even Aaron.

_Oh God, Aaron_, he finally realized not even knowing what how he was gonna break the news to the little guy.

"She wanted to do this you know." He suddenly grew distracted and startled by a voice behind him.

"Excuse me."

"Claire. She said she always wanted to know what it was like to explore." Tom went onto elaborate informing Jack of the many times she tried to sneak through on some of their expeditions.

"She always wanted to be the hero…….Didn't end well did it?" Jack reminded him, killing the light hearted moment right away with the cold hard truth and all Tom did then was pat Jack on the back saying……

"She died protecting us Jack. If that's not a hero then I don't know what is."

* * *

She was uncomfortable to say the least, handcuffed to a bed where a woman's dead body still lay. The same woman she couldn't save, she sadly reminded herself as she took in this tragic scene.

"I'm sorry." She whispered knowing it was inappropriate for some reason, but she felt responsible for not trying hard enough.

_What if I did? Would it have made a difference? _

"Hey, I'm sorry they -- they, uh, had to put handcuffs on you." Jack suddenly walked in apologizing as he huddled himself to un cuff her.

"What was her name?" Kate inquired in an effort to fuel her curiosity and make conversation as well. Her mind not being able to register her sudden need to accomplish the latter part, but she went with it anyway.

He immediately winced at the question evoking an apologetic look from her, of which he just smiled at, touched that she did care on some level.

"Claire, her name was Claire." He revealed and then went back to work, reverting to his previous gloom filled demeanor.

"So, tell me about her?" Kate then went onto ask, knowing she was bordering on intrusion here, but she wanted to know.

"Uh…well there's a lot to say, but if I had to sum her up in one word I'd say "perky"." He stated with a smile which soon disappeared when his eyes caught sight of Claire's covered body lying inches away from where they were at, at the moment.

"There wasn't any more that you could have done. She was -- she was dead before you put her on the table." She explained, feeling the need to prevent him from beating himself up for this cause she could clearly see that he already was.

"Are you just saying that to make me feel better?" he asked in a surprisingly calm manner, feeling that going on the defense with her would achieve nothing but more pain and misery, and he more than his fair share to deal with now.

"If it helps?" she responded earning a mixed reaction from him, but he shrugged it off with a muttered thanks and then proceeded to escort her back to her cell. However before he could make the first step back there along with her, she surprised him as she turned around and hugged him. Her intentions to offer him this kind of comfort astounding him, but he quickly melded into the warmth it offered. So much so that he didn't even feel her hand sneak to acquire something from his pocket. Something she had keenly spotted him tucking away when he undid her cuffs.

Once she was done and successful in her mission she pulled away and gazed at him, feeling a sudden wave of guilt hit her when she saw the sheer warmth and gratefulness in his brown eyes.

"I'm sorry." She found herself apologizing for the obvious reason of course, but he on the other hand took it as a gesture for his loss. A loss he knew he would immensely suffer from, but maybe not so much anymore.

**Oooo so Kate's got a plan now, but will she be able to go through with it, and more importantly what will Jack think once he finds out what she's done? All will be revealed soon...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Okay first off thank God my memory stick didn't end up being corrupted like the last time I used it with an Apple g-book lol. Gosh the scenery here is so amazing and I'm also learning how to surf. I know it's a little late age wise hehe but I've always wanted to try it. Anyhoo back to the fic and I'm so glad you guys are still liking it. Here's the next slightly more jate centric instalment :)**

**P.S. Thanks so much for the reviews. I know I probably sound like a broken record saying it all the time but I really am thankful. It makes me even more enthusiastic about writing so please keep them coming. Whether it be signed or anonymous I'd love to know what you guys think ;)**

Enjoy

"Tell me why you're really here or I will use this." Sayid warned in a tone and manner that was certainly not to be questioned or trifled with, especially after all the things he had done in his shady past.

"Sayid pleas….." the man tried one last time but it failed to win any kind of sympathy from the man who was surely about to end his life. Or was he?

"Check his pockets." Sayid then instructed to the two other men although he was more focused on the faded label on the right side of Khalid's worn out shirt.

"Aye Aye Cap'em." Sawyer mumbled under his breath but followed through with the instruction and came up with nothing but a few pictures of a woman. A woman who immediately gained Sayid's attention the moment he was given the pictures.

"So Rashid was right all along about you. Is that the reason you befriended me, so that you could get the one thing you really wanted." Sayid hissed, partly hurt but mostly angered at the fact that God knows what had been going on behind his back all that time.

"What did you tell her?"

"Sayid I ….."

"TELL ME!!" He shouted while holding the man by the throat with one hand and lodging the gun even deeper into the man's chest with the other.

What annoyed Sayid even more was that Khalid kept on chanting Nadia's name almost as a way to take him away from all of this. However Sayid was far from done with him at this point, not when he finally learned of how he had been played all those years. He just hoped that Nadia played no part in it cause if she did then he wasn't particularly sure of what he might feel or do from that point onwards.

Khalid on the other hand hoped and prayed that the others would be here soon. The others belonging to a man he had worked heart and soul for these past couple of months, and as he was finally met with the scenery of the very island he was assigned to find, he felt nothing but relief that all his hard work had indeed paid off.

Now all he had to do was wait it out till his people came.

* * *

Ever since Claire's unexpected and immensely tragic demise he had decided to move into her quarters seeing it as the most sensible way to take care of the other reason he had moved in, Aaron.

He had never truly seen himself as a Father or even considered himself stable enough to ever be one considering the problems he had had with his own Father, but he didn't exactly have a choice in the matter, and to a certain extent he didn't really want there to be one because he knew Aaron well enough to treat him as if he were his own son regardless of what Danny wanted. Thankfully Ben saw things his way this time and denied Danny's right to stay in their fairly civilized neighbourhood, let alone grant him the right to become Aaron's official guardian.

The one thing that was plaguing his mind now was the way he was going to break the news to the little guy. The "little trip" excuse seemed to be wearing off and besides that he couldn't think of anything else to tell him other than the real truth of course.

_How do you tell a 3 and a half year old that his Mom is _ _gone, and that she's never ever coming back?_

At that moment he became overwhelmed with sudden fit of rage at Claire for knowing the fatal risk she would present as a consequence of her actions yet still going ahead and putting her life on the line for a bunch of people whom he wasn't completely convinced would do the same for her in return.

Weirdly enough this new and almost spontaneous rebellious streak in her started when she met Danny. He always had his doubts about the guy but constantly kept his mouth shut out of respect for her privacy.

_If only I had just said something at the time_ , he told himself wondering if it would have even made a lick of difference in the first place.

So now here he was dressed in the unusual yet compulsory white garment he would have to wear to the funeral or as Ben called it "The passing".

**Knock, knock**

_Speaking of the creepy devil_

"Hello Jack." Ben calmly announced himself once Jack reluctantly opened the door to him. He too was dressed in the same white garment but he was holding an extra set merely suggesting that he was here concerning the one other person he assumed would also be expected to attend despite her not knowing Claire all that well.

"I need you to take these to Kate." He instructed evoking a huff of frustration from Jack.

"Why can't you do it yourself?" he shot back feeling tired to say the least of continuously doing his dirty work, but he could also sense that all of this may be for another reason altogether. A reason he assumed had something to do with his slight but noticeable attachment towards the brunette.

"I can't anyway cause Aaron's gonna be up any minute and no one else is here to tend to him." He made the excuse hoping to God that he would be left alone to wallow in the gloomy mood he was in.

"Have you told him yet?" Ben enquired since there were on the subject of the boy at the moment. On a numerous amount of occasions he had offered to be the one to tell Aaron, knowing what it was like to loose his own Mother at such an early age. However Jack insisted that he would do it himself seeing as how close he and Aaron had gotten, especially when Danny came into the picture.

He slowly nodded his head in negation with the man's question while bowing his head in shame almost for not being capable enough to do it. Although in his defence he was still getting used to the fact that he was caring for another life other than his own.

"Why don't you let me take care of it Jack" Ben coaxed while placing a hand on Jack's shoulder to show him that maybe for once in his life he was being sincere here, but was it enough to win Jack's trust over?

"Judith." Jack suddenly called out to his next door neighbour and office friend since he had come to this blessed place.

"Yeah Jack." She replied while coming over to see what he was calling her for while Ben just watched on in shock of what was happening. Since when were the tables turned.

"I was just wondering if you could stay with Aaron while I run a few errands." He asked treating Ben as if he wasn't there, but he tried not to let it get to him too much because the plans he had would just go to show how serious he took any kind of disrespect shown towards him.

"Sure" Judith replied with a smile and with that Jack briefly thanked her before plucking the garments out of Ben's hands and then lightly sprinting towards the underwater enclosure where Kate was still being kept.

* * *

Boredom was probably the best word to describe what she was feeling at the moment. The only thing that gave her a sense of consolation and guilt at the same time was the set of keys she stole from Jack's pocket a few days ago.

In her short time of being here she never thought things would turn out this way, more precisely the immense amount of guilt she would feel each time she stared at the best means for her escape. Though the more she thought about it and the more she felt that this may not have been a good plan after all, cause how likely would her chances be of Jack helping her once he learns that he was just another pawn in her plan. Deep in her heart she sensed and felt that perhaps he was more than that.

"_You can trust me, Kate._ _I'm not going to hurt you." _

However her conflicting thoughts were suddenly pulled to a screeching halt when she heard the lock of her cell door being undone only to then be graced with the presence of a rather unusually dressed Jack, but the sheer amount of distress showing through his demeanour was enough to make her stay off any kind of witty comment.

"Hey." He offered as cheerfully as his mood could muster and she found herself growing somewhat touched at the fact that he was trying for her.

"You okay?" she took the plunge and asked him while slowly tucking the key back into her back pocket.

"Uhh….Ben wants you to put these on." He chose to reveal instead of touching of allowing his emotions to get the better of him. He was dangerously close to allowing the wall to crumble and he felt that any more reminders of Claire's death would make him completely useless, especially for Aaron.

"Why?" Kate asked the obvious question feeling a tad hurt with the way he rewarded her genuine concern for him.

"Please Kate just put them on." He pleaded with her and she relented with a sigh while grabbing the garment from his hands.

"Could you…" she then asked while holding up the garment to suggest what she was asking for and he simply apologised while turning himself around.

"I know what's it's like you know." Kate started out as she changed into the garment she was given, and when Jack failed to cut her off she continued on in an attempt to convince him that they were the same in some ways, especially in dealing with the loss of a loved one. By the end of it he faintly nodded in agreement with her argument and then told her that someone would be here shortly to escort her. He would have volunteered to do it himself but he still had Aaron to consider in all of this starting with telling him about his Mother.

He was still at a loss as to how he was going to approach it, but he knew that if he didn't then it would be considerably worse. So with that he gazed at the brunette one last time, momentarily captivated with the way the white garment almost accentuated her petite frame even more.

_Radiant was the first word to spring _ _to mind followed by an array of images of an X rated variety._

"Umm, I… I'll see you." He stuttered and quickly let himself out before any guesses were made as to what he was thinking just now. The very consideration of such lewd thoughts shocking him to no extent, but in the end he just put it down to the situation he was going through at the moment.

Little did he know he wasn't the only one thinking that way at that exact moment.

**So looks like jate is starting to bubble and in some ways this event might just bring them closer** **, but of course the time will come when Kate will have to decide whether she wants to go ahead with her plans in using Jack and saving her and her friends or finding some other way altogether?**

**Okay now I'm gonna leave the content of the next chapter up to you guys so that this fic doesn't drag too much. We can either have the funeral which will have some emotional Jack and Kate interaction, including Kate and Aaron's first meeting, or we can skip ahead and go straight to some jate angst when a certain event with Kevin arouses feelings Kate never knew she had. Either way it still doesn't disrupt what I have planned for this fic. **

**Let me know guys!!**

**BTW if you guys are wondering, Khalid is of course a character of moi's creation but he will prove to play a fairly critical role within this fic. He may just be a Charles Widmore in the making hehe. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Okay so it looks like we're gonna be documenting the funeral scene and to be fairly honest I too wanted to go with this option, but as always the one thing I don't want to do is drag things. Anyway here it is guys and as always please spare a few minutes to let me know what you think. Thanks :)**

Enjoy

She was confused, but more so angry for allowing herself to become so caught up in something that was wrong in every sense of the word.

Yes, he was admittedly attractive, mostly physically at this point but over the duration of the last few days she had gotten to witness a genuinely emotional side of him as well, and as a result it left her emotionally hanging between sides.

_He__ still works for the people who trapped you here. _

A thought like that may have gotten a positive outcome a few weeks earlier but seeing a sense of logic in it was questionable now.

However it all came to a standstill when she was physically brought to one as well by the person who was assigned to bring her here at the last minute.

The first thing she saw was a group of people dressed in the same attire she was made to wear for this occasion. They stood circling and focused on something that had dampened their spirits considerably and Kate surmised the obvious as a result.

She then caught sight of similarly dressed Jack walking towards the covered body in tow with a little boy she had never seen before, much less known about.

Upon his arrival the others moved aside to let him and the boy through, and once they did he bent himself down to the boy's level and said something she couldn't quite hear due to the current distance between them, but whatever it was it seemed to have some sort of effect on the boy's mood.

Speaking of which, who was this boy. There was no mistaking that he definitely meant something to the person he was currently looking at in such a disheartened way, but what did he mean to Jack?

_Was he his son?_

_Were he and this Claire__ woman involved in any way?_

_No, cause she was with that Danny guy._

"Even if they were why should it matter?"

But it did and she didn't know whether this new found curiosity rooted from something she herself was afraid of feeling for a man she clearly knew nothing about at this point.

"I hate funerals."

The tone of the voice came across as obvious and unmistakable but the identity it belonged to evoked nothing but a mixed look of weariness and confusion from Kate.

"I'm Judith by the way, but most people around here call me Judy." The blonde woman decided to introduce herself when she sensed Kate's growing uneasiness and to be honest could she really be blamed after the hell the woman had been put through.

So with that in mind the blonde accepted the barely audible nod of Kate offered as her best form of acknowledgement. With that Kate focused her attention on the progressing scene before her once again. Carefully watching as Ben said something and then gave the silent word for the wrapped body to be released into the vast horizon before them.

As the body began to move on the raft it was situated upon, the little boy Jack had brought with him turned away from the body and turned to seek the nearest form of comfort his little heart so desperately needed at that moment and Jack simply opened his arms to willingly offer it.

Kate in the meantime just gazed on at the scene, not being able to suppress the heartbreak she felt as she saw the boy sobbing within Jack's embrace. His cries getting to her more than she would have liked, and in that moment her hand went straight to her now flattened stomach, her fingers sub consciously moving around in a method and rhythm she had gone so used to up until she found out that there was no need to continue with it cause there was nothing to soothe and comfort anymore.

Was that the reason for her pain, especially towards this boy?

Maybe it was a fairly similar loss like this that brought back the very memory of hers experienced not so long ago. A personal loss she was still trying to get over but couldn't because it still hadn't really hit her yet.

Before she could even hold it in the first few tears of many rolled down her cheeks as she bent her head to desperately hide them from the world. The last thing she wanted to do was show these people her greatest weakness, especially towards the one person she wasn't sure would or wouldn't use it against her.

After living a life where she was constantly played by the people she cared about, she grew hard and shielded as a result and it hardened even further when Ethan did what he did.

"Kate?" she suddenly heard her name being spoken in a tone of question and concern and she did nothing but cautiously lift her head to make contact with the person she surmised was standing before her now. The sleeping form still cuddled safely within his arms confirming her assumptions and strengthening her breakdown for a reason that was clearly apparent to her and her only.

"Here, why don't I take him back to my place and you can pick him up in the morning." Judy suggested in an effort to grant something she saw as odd but okay at the same time. However the look on Jack's face was enough to make her go through with what she had suggested in the end.

"Uh….okay, thanks." Jack stuttered to come up with a valid decision. It's not that he didn't trust Judy with Aaron; he just felt like he was deserting him and not doing the right thing as the parent he naturally assumed he would become now. He'd be damned if he were to let Danny near him again.

Once Judy left an uncomfortable silence followed between Jack and Kate. That was until she decided to wordlessly turn away from him and then allow herself to be escorted back to her prison, leaving Jack confused at what had just happened, or more so the lack of what did happen.

One thing he knew for sure was that this wasn't the end.

He wanted to know and he had a fairly good idea as to where he would start.

* * *

**So a bit of a soppy chapter but the next will deal with a bit more Jack and Kat****e interaction seeing as Jack is now on a mission and what he finds will change things completely as a result. All will be revealed in the next instalment...**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Wow it's been ages since I updated this and I sincerely apologise for not doing so, but without further adieu here it is. **

**Thanks for the reviews guys.**

"She was pregnant?" He felt the need to affirm himself for the millionth time after picking up on the tell tale signs from medical records.

What did confuse him however was what he read when he got to the bottom of her file.

"**Viable Candidate"**

What the hell?

------

She couldn't stop thinking about him.

She knew it was ridiculous being that she barely knew him, aside from his name of course, but still there was just something there that had her drawn.

The latest reason being the little boy she saw him with at the funeral. A boy she could she found herself possibly wanting to know, but of course it would be a little out of place on her part to try.

However the one person she wasn't drawn to in the slightest was now standing before her, behind the thin sheen glass wall of her cell, looking to her for an answer regarding the X-rays she had been issued with earlier on today.

She already had the answer but was still unwilling to give it to him. Not until she was fully assured that she and her friends would be let go after this.

His word wasn't enough.

"Kate?" the man felt the need to question and remind her that he was here and waiting, but it failed to falter her determination to gain assurance of his word.

"When were these taken?" the surgeon in her enquired and surprisingly enough the person beside Ben awarded her with a rough estimation of which Kate simply nodded at before focusing on the X-Ray she was holding at the moment.

"Is it…" the person standing beside Ben vouched to

"The OR in the other room, it's fully equipped?" she proceeded to ask and focus on the person beside Ben.

"Yes." The person confirmed with an audible nod and Ben felt it was time to finally put his need for an answer to rest.

"You were supposed to be in surgery yesterday." Kate explained, only strengthening Ben's need to do this now and get it over and done with.

"Whatever you need it's yours. I'm ready."

"No."

"No?" Ben obviously questioned her denial to simply comply. Him seeing the move as nothing but a reckless attempt to put her friends' lives in danger, but at the same time he grew curious at where this could possibly lead.

Jack on the other hand was weary yet remained silent to hear her argument out. Hoping to God that it wouldn't result in her paying the price with her life or her friends' for that matter.

"I want to see them first." She more or less demanded in a tone that was not be trifled or reasoned with in any sense, but it didn't stop Ben from re affirming her of the deal.

"I gave you my word Kate."

"Yeah, well forgive me for saying this but I don't really trust "you people." She shot back irrespective of the fact that Jack was right there as well.

"Fine, have it your way." Ben relented apparently meeting her half way and both Jack and Kate couldn't be more surprised that he gave in so easily.

Or so they thought?

--------

Ten minutes later and a hooded figure was being escorted in by Jack, and upon removing the dirty sack from the figure's head, a smile of relief naturally made it's way onto Kate's face.

However it disappeared when her elation failed to make any sort of impression on the person opposite her.

This wasn't the Kevin she met and knew.

Sensing that they needed some time alone, Ben wordlessly excused himself and with one last lingering look Jack reluctantly turned away and followed.

"Hey."

"Hey." Kevin numbly replied in the same monotonous manner and the fact that his gaze was avoiding her the entire time, made her naturally assume the worst.

"Kevin, is everythi…."

"They're gonna hurt her Kate."

"Hurt who?" she asked obviously at a loss with who this "she" was.

"Juliet."

Shock was the only thing to feel at that moment along with the happiness she expected him to also feel at finally being reunited with his wife, but he looked nothing of the sort now. Although that could have been due to the fact that wife's life was currently at stake.

"They said that if you don't agree to their deal they'll kill her." He choked out before his voice gave way to the emotion he was trying so damn hard to suppress, but the very thought of his wife being hurt was enough to worsen his worry.

No matter what he might have felt for Kate over the past few months, it didn't change or make him forget about Juliet, the woman he was rightly meant to love and cherish with every piece of his heart.

He knew that now, more than ever.

"How do you know that they're not lying?"

"Because I've seen her Kate and…."

"And what?" Kate stressed wanting to look at this in every possible way but Kevin seemed more than reluctant to play detective now.

"Just accept the deal Kate." he suggested instead of expanding on what he had really seen.

"Kevin, I….."

"Please Kate." He pleaded giving her next to no chance of arguing the toss any longer, even though she wanted to for a reason she felt was selflessly logical at the time, but none of it mattered now.

A life was at stake, Juliet's life.

"Okay." She relented in a barely audible whisper but it was enough to finally bring a smile of thanks followed by a matching verbal proclamation of which she responded to with the ghost of a smile. Discretely conveying the fact that she wasn't happy with having her own plan backfire in her face, but she cared about Kevin enough to put herself on the line here.

Maybe more than any friend would, but she couldn't think that way now.

"He's a married man, remember" she had to remind herself for possibly the millionth time. Still seeing no other way around it, despite how she felt.

--------

Watching on the screens the whole time with a victorious smile on his face was Ben whereas Jack focused more on the defeat strongly present within Kate's demeanour. He, like Ben was aware of Kate's "friendly" attachment towards Kevin and being firmly reminded once again that he was unattainable had to bring an expected wave of disappointment and hurt.

A combination that he felt nothing but concern over, though he was still unwilling to admit what he felt whenever it concerned this woman. A woman he had only known for a few days but within that time he had taken a genuine liking to what he saw. Having never felt like this since Sarah and that's what scared him the most.

"Get him out of there." Ben suddenly ordered, snapping Jack out of his current line of thought and wordlessly complying with his instruction, but not before fulfilling his curiosity.

"Why make him lie to Kate about seeing his wife?"

"Cause I want her to know what it feels like to be humiliated and what better way to do it than with the man she loves but can never have." Ben simply answered and it literally took every ounce of control within Jack to not knock the guy out. Instead all he did was walk away, assumedly doing as he was told but the same couldn't be said for his planning mind.

One way or another things were about to change.

(Meanwhile)

She felt like a fool and there was no denying of it being a fact.

All the plans she had of their escape, gone, and in the bargain she also lost the one person she could have credited as a genuine friend in this place.

The look he gave her when he came to take Kevin away was enough to suggest that she was alone now and had no one but herself to blame.

The only thing she could do now was fulfil her part of the deal and hope that Ben would honour his word and finally let them go. However it was only then that she forced herself to wonder.

"What is honestly there to go back to now other than the chances of rescue which seem highly unlikely at this point?"

She had nothing.

No one to live or fight for anymore.

Little did she know that, that was far from the truth. An unexpected ally would now make sure of it through his plan.

* * *

**A short instalment yes, but seeing as I haven't updated this in a long time I didn't want to confuse you guys by putting too much in this chapter. ****So what's Jack'****s plan and how will it affect his standing with "his people"?**

**Next Chapter: An update on the 815'ers and Jack has something to show Kate.**

**An update can follow shortly but only if you guys want it. One thing I do assure is more Jack/Kate interaction occurring within the next few chapters. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Apologies once again guys and without further adieu here's a new update.**

**As always thanks for the reviews.**

**In case you guys forgot here's a little catch up on what's happened in this fic so far -:**

_Kate, Kevin and Charlie were captured by the "Others_" _shortly after their plane crashed__on what they thought was a deserted Island. Anyway__amidst their capture Kate ends up meeting a mysterious "Other" named Jack. Expectedly wary of him at first but as time progresses somewhat of a friendship forms and it escalates considerably when a sudden tragedy strikes Jack. The death of his sister Claire whom he came to know and meet on the Island. _

_Kate, still reeling from the aftermath of her own personal loss (Ethan and her unborn child) feels a deep sense of relation to Jack at this point, along with an apology for not being able to fix Claire for him. Another surprise adds itself to the emotional mix when Kate learns of Jack's nephew, Aaron. _

_However Kate's ultimate emotional battle is put to the test when Kevin, the man Kate had started to develop feelings for pleads for her to do Ben's surgery or else they'll kill Juliet, Kevin's wife whom he thought he lost in the crash. _

_Meanwhile back on the other side of the Island the 815'ers, including Christian Shepherd are not only trying to seek rescue, but also trying to get their kidnapped people back. In the midst of their search they catch sight of a yacht on the edge of the horizon. _

_Thinking it's rescue __a select few swim towards it only to find a deranged man Sayid only seems to know. A man called Khalid who works for another secret organization altogether…._

**Hope that helps a bit :)**

* * *

Another week had passed with no sign of rescue or any advancement in information concerning the Others.

The one thing he hated was just sitting around doing nothing, especially when there was a current crisis at stake. A crisis he knew wouldn't be solved through continuing to accuse and torture their newest visitor, Khalid.

A man who did spark suspicion at first but as the days went on he proved to be less of a threat and just as clueless as they were about the "Others".

Still, that knowledge failed to register with Sayid who just continued to try and see the bad in this man for a reason Christian sensed was perhaps personal.

"I have to do something" he suddenly decided, opting to go with his initial plan of trekking through the jungle to find these "Others" and hopefully get Kate, Kevin and Charlie back in the process.

So with that in mind he packed a few things and vacated his tent to acquire one last thing to assure a form of security on his journey.

"Goin' somewhere Pops?" came Sawyer's guess as he reluctantly handed Christian one of the spare guns he had in his possession.

"Boar hunt" Christian revealed, hoping that his excuse would be bought, especially considering the truthful scarcity of food of late.

"With a gun?"

"Works better than a measly twig or Swiss army knife." Christian explained with a little annoyance in his tone at being interrogated for borrowing one gun.

"Need a hand?" Sawyer then offered much to Christian's surprise in light of witnessing the Southerner do nothing but smoke, drink and of course have the occasional brawl over something or another.

"Thanks for the offer Sawyer, but I work better alone." He explained and then moved to leave. Ending any further argument and leaving Sawyer confused and suspicious.

The latter winning considerably when he suddenly caught sight of something slipping out of Christian's bag. Nothing but question clouding his mind as he tried to read the map currently in his hands. The very map Sayid had retrieved from Rousseau during his capture.

-------

The operation was a success yet it still failed to change the gloom of her mood. Much to the surprise of her captors she didn't even put up that much of a fight when they handcuffed her and then took her back to her cell.

Once in there she sat down on the slab like bench in the middle of the cell, her head bowed down, presumably in thought he surmised as he walked into her cell a few minutes later with a covered plate of food.

She barely responded to his presence let alone the meal he had painstakingly catered specifically to her liking as he read in her file. Still he vowed to try.

So with that he crouched down to her level, the covered plate of food in his left hand whilst his right gripped the handle of the cover to make the big reveal.

"Made you're favourite." Jack revealed with a smile before pulling the cover off to reveal something that achieved the hint of a smile from her.

"5 cook books later and "voila", it's even better than it looked in the book…" he joked proudly admiring his own work like an artist and she couldn't help but chuckle at it all.

"Which one?" she then attempted to play along, much to his surprise, exuding a combined expression of wariness and gathering amusement at the same time when she eyed what looked like veggie lasagne.

"Oh, all of them." He cockily responded and then dissolved into a moment of laughter, thankfully with her.

The moment from there on progressed. The previous gloom of her mood almost vanished from sight now and instead replaced with a more cheerful and light hearted one, thanks to the man now sitting next to her.

"C'mon it's not that bad." He spoke, keenly observing the way she contorted her face after taking the first bite.

"Oh yeah……" Kate exclaimed before acquiring a considerable amount on her fork, "you try it" and then jamming it into his mouth. Laughing at the way his mouth just went stationery while his eyes failed to blink in shock at the taste, but never the less he swallowed it down, reluctantly.

"Okay, so it's a little chewy…." He issued his verdict and simply laughed when she looked upon him in a humorously absurd fashion and then teasing him by saying, "a little?"

After spending a few more minutes simply basking in the light hearted spirit of the moment, a slightly uncomfortable silence ensued. Both suddenly brought back to the reality of their predicament and Jack refrained from offering her assurance in regards to the Kevin situation, cause he himself knew what it was like to suffer from a broken heart.

No amount of assurance could make it better at this stage.

"How's your son doing?"

He was a little taken off his feet by her question for the obvious reason, but then he put two and two together, judging by what she must have seen and naturally surmised at Claire's funeral.

"His name is Aaron and he's my nephew." He corrected the referral, watching her face transform into one of surprise.

"Oh, so you and Claire were….."

"Related and very close….." he confirmed and then went on to reveal the sad truth of it all, "in the short time we'd gotten to know each other here."

"I'm sorry." Kate apologised out of respect, earning a nod of acknowledgement from him.

"When I first came to this Island I thought, what the hell have I gotten myself into, but that all changed when I found out that I had a sister." He confessed, resting his head back, gaining her full attention in the process.

"She wanted to know everything about my…..**OUR** Father, yet the one thing she wanted I couldn't give her because I still don't have the answer." He continued, saddened and equally frustrated at his Father's selfishness towards his own daughter.

Jack then went onto to tell Kate about Claire's family situation before they met. With an absentee Mother in play she had next to no one other than her new found Step Brother to ask about her Father.

"Now she'll never get the chance to meet him." He admitted with sadness in his tone and demeanour and without thinking Kate reached out to place her hand on his left shoulder in a gesture of comfort. The action arousing Jack's focus on her instead and he was emotionally thrown by the level of care showing within her gaze.

Care, not just for Claire but him as well.

* * *

**Next Chapter: Jack**** finally acts on his plan, given the key opportunity and Christian bumps into a seemingly familiar face…...**


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